Well cooler weather has came in but it was only down to about the mid to lower 60s so I decided to try my hand at smoking a chuck roast.
Humidity wasn't too bad around 67 percent so I set my smoker to 225 and preheated the main chamber and water pan which took a while because of the cooler temperatures.
everything was going good 3 hours in when my Wife noticed the grease drip pan was nearly full !! ( never happened before )
I swapped out the drip pan and while cleaning it it dawned on me the grease pan was full of blackened water not grease.
So I opted to open up the main chamber to find the entire smoke chamber dripping wet with condensation, I did not think much about it I just dried the bottom and walls plus door off with paper towels and went to close the door when I thought maybe I should look at the chuck roast.
Sure enough it was covered in black spots from condensation dripping all over it.
Not wanting to risk it we decided to toss the meat and just write it off to a lesson learned ( no water pan in cooler temperatures )
I am guessing the water pan caused the excessive condensation along with the cooler than normal temperatures.
We sure are glad this happened with a cheap piece of meat and not a 100 dollar brisket LOL.
I did not think since Lived in Florida that I would need to insulate my smoker but I guess I may have to look into it.
Any other ideas as to what went wrong ? I am all ears.
I do clean out our smoker after each use , I wipe it down with olive oil soaked towels and do a final wipe with clean towels leaving a slight film of oil to prevent rust
so I am not sure what else I could have done to prevent this from happening?
I wonder at what ambient temperature - humidity cut off should I consider not using a water pan ?
Humidity wasn't too bad around 67 percent so I set my smoker to 225 and preheated the main chamber and water pan which took a while because of the cooler temperatures.
everything was going good 3 hours in when my Wife noticed the grease drip pan was nearly full !! ( never happened before )
I swapped out the drip pan and while cleaning it it dawned on me the grease pan was full of blackened water not grease.
So I opted to open up the main chamber to find the entire smoke chamber dripping wet with condensation, I did not think much about it I just dried the bottom and walls plus door off with paper towels and went to close the door when I thought maybe I should look at the chuck roast.
Sure enough it was covered in black spots from condensation dripping all over it.
Not wanting to risk it we decided to toss the meat and just write it off to a lesson learned ( no water pan in cooler temperatures )
I am guessing the water pan caused the excessive condensation along with the cooler than normal temperatures.
We sure are glad this happened with a cheap piece of meat and not a 100 dollar brisket LOL.
I did not think since Lived in Florida that I would need to insulate my smoker but I guess I may have to look into it.
Any other ideas as to what went wrong ? I am all ears.
I do clean out our smoker after each use , I wipe it down with olive oil soaked towels and do a final wipe with clean towels leaving a slight film of oil to prevent rust
so I am not sure what else I could have done to prevent this from happening?
I wonder at what ambient temperature - humidity cut off should I consider not using a water pan ?